Mumbai aim to shock Australia

Sairaj Bahutule: exhorting his players to aim for a promotion to the national team and, perhaps, eyeing one himself © AFP

Chandrakant Pandit, Mumbai's coach, has said that Australia may be in for a surprise in the opening game of their tour, beginning on September 30 at the Brabourne Stadium. He insisted that Mumbai's reputation was at stake in such a big game and that they would try their best to dent the Australians' confidence before the Tests.

"They have only one practice game and they will have to play their full-strength side," he said. "We have done well in the last two seasons and our reputation is at stake in such a big game. Our performance in 1998 is in the back of our mind."

Mumbai boast a strong record against the Australians in the last few years: their battering of Australia in 1998, when Shane Warne was taken apart, set the tone for the rest of the series, and they also gained the first-innings lead in the drawn encounter in 2001.

Pandit said that there may be a few surprises with regard to team selection. "We have to play to our strengths. We may give them a shock. I have been discussing about the composition of the side with Sairaj [Bahutule, Mumbai's captain]. Sachin [Tendulkar] is also coming tomorrow and I plan to ask him to speak to the team."

Bahutule felt that this was a great chance for the players to make a significant career move. "We all know how important it is do well against a team like Australia. A good performance there can help us stake a claim to the national team."

He also added that the team had got used to playing without Tendulkar and his absence wouldn't hurt them too much. "It would have been good if he was here but I think it is an opportunity for a youngster to do well against a quality side like Australia. Not many people get to play against such a good side and I think we have got a great chance here."

Mumbai had a poor start to their season with a crushing 290-run defeat to Rest of India in the Irani Trophy. Pandit attributed that to early-season rustiness and added, "It is not easy to come off a long break and perform at your peak."